WITH just 666 calls made from a total of 23 public phone boxes in one year, many of the area’s roadside icons are under threat of closure.

Two of the boxes haven’t even been used in the last 12 months - one of those has been vandalised - but the other is still operational.

Telecommunication giant BT is in the middle of a consultation with local authorities and the public.

There are 80 payphones in Charnwood borough and BT has highlighted 23 of them.

None of those under threat are the classic red phone boxes.

Included in the number are the Old Ashby Road/Ravensthorpe Drive, Loughborough and Stanford Lane, Cotes.

Neither have been used during the last year - but the Loughborough one has been vandalised.

However payphones in Castledine Street, Loughborough, and Charnwood Road, Shepshed, have been used 104 and 122 times each in the last year, and are also on the list.

Shepshed Town Council has raised its own concerns (see separate story below ).

Overall only 666 calls were made from the 23 boxes since last December.

BT has contacted local authorities to make them aware of the consultation, and then give the local community the chance to tell them if they feel a payphone is still needed.

BT says it will not remove payphones under consultation when it receives an objection from the local authority.

The payphones which are consulted on, are decided by the number of calls made, maintenance costs, the strength of nearby mobile signal, and if there’s a high concentration of payphones in that area, BT says it will consider if there’s a need for it.

Charnwood Borough Council has asked for residents’ comments on the consultation and says there are three responses which can be made in respect of each payphone:

• Agree to the removal of a payphone

• Adopt a kiosk

• Object to the removal of a payphone

Elsewhere former payphones have been turned into a book swap service, a small coffee stand, and to house a communal defibrillator.

A spokesperson from BT said: “BT is committed to providing a payphone service, but with usage declining over 90 per cent in the last decade, we’ve continued to review and remove payphones which are no longer needed.

“Any removal of payphones is carried out along side the Ofcom guidelines and with the consent of local authorities.”

The consultation will end on Thursday, December 31.

For more information visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/currentconsultations, or to comment email democracy@charnwood.gov.uk before Thursday, December 22.

• Another phone box one in The Nook, Anstey is also under consultation, but Charnwood Borough Council told The Echo that was because BT had requested its removal due to new development.

Shepshed's concern over their phone boxes

FOUR public phone boxes could be removed from Shepshed - including one that was used 122 times in the last year.

As part of the borough-wide consultation being carried out by BT “against a background of a significant decrease in the use of public phone boxes”, the telecommunications company has identified four phone boxes in the town which it is proposing to remove.